Professor emeritus Morris Hayes dies at 87Morris D. Hayes, UW-Eau Claire professor emeritus of music and theatre arts, died June 15 in Oceanside, Calif. He was 87. A memorial service is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at First Congregational Church in Eau Claire.

Hayes joined the UW-Eau Claire faculty in 1966, when the university had only one choir. He soon developed men's and women's choruses, and by 1975 he was conducting the Concert Choir, Oratorio Society, Singing Statesmen and Women's Chorus - a total of 600 students weekly. Hayes retired from UW-Eau Claire in 1987. Survivors include his wife, Gladys, of Oceanside, Calif.; daughter, Mary Hayes, of Greenville; son, Doug Hayes, of Eau Claire; and many grandchildren. Full obituary.

Research in Israel ends early for professor, student

UW-Eau Claire Professor Harry Jol and student Eric Pascal recently returned earlier than planned from a research trip to Israel. At left, Pascal prepared to take laser level measurements for topography along a survey line that goes by Mamluck Mosque at Tel Yavne (just south of Tel Aviv). At right, Pascal and Jol stand in front of their work site in Nazareth, St. Gabriel's Church of the Annunciation (Greek Orthodox) and Mary's Well. (Read more about the Nazareth and Tel Yavne projects.) (Contributed photos)

Harry Jol, UW-Eau Claire professor of geography and anthropology, and senior Eric Pascal returned July 17 from a research trip to Israel, where they had a few close encounters with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The first part of their trip (July 6-14) was quiet, but some of the areas they visited in the northern part of Israel later became targets, and the last day of their work together was canceled when the site they planned to visit was struck by rockets. At one point they were staying on Kibbutz Ginosar on the Sea of Galilee (near Tiberius), just two miles from where more rockets were landing.

Pascal was supposed to stay on in Israel a week beyond Jol to conduct research with a professor from another university, but the conflict forced him to come home a week early. Jol and various students have been visiting sites in Israel for the past several years to assist archaeologists working there by using ground penetrating radar to locate buried archaeological artifacts and religious sites and structures.Read a related story published in the July 19 Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

UW-Eau Claire Concert Choir conductor Gary Schwartzhoff received the choir's special award from Michele Capasso, president of the Fondazione Laboratorio Mediterraneo, in the Palatine Chapel of the Royal Palace of Naples during the choir's recent Italy tour. (F.L.M. photo)

Concert Choir receives honor during Italy tour
UW-Eau Claire's Concert Choir and its conductor, Gary Schwartzhoff, traveling and performing in Italy with Concert Choir alumni July 8-15, received a stunning surprise before their July 11 performance at the Duomo in Naples. The Fondazione Laboratorio Mediterraneo, an organization that promotes peace, understanding and cultural exchange between the people of the two shores of the Mediterranean and the rest of the world, presented the ensemble with "un premio speciale," a special award, in recognition of their contribution to the choral art and the promotion of world culture. Full story.

Jenna Cushing-Leubner '05

Amanda Hill '06

Trever Hagen '03

Alumni receive prestigious Fulbright awardsIn recent weeks, three UW-Eau Claire alumni have received Fulbright awards to conduct research abroad, bringing to six the number of UW-Eau Claire graduates to receive the prestigous award since 2000.

Jenna Cushing-Leubner, Menomonie, a December 2005 UW-Eau Claire English and German graduate, received a combination research and teaching grant for travel to Vienna, Austria, as well as a supplemental Fulbright Language Training Initiative grant to study Turkish, which is critical to the research she will conduct in Austria. Full story.

Amanda Hill, who in May received a bachelor of science degree in biology and French, will travel to Belgium to teach English as a foreign language. Full story.

Trever Hagen, a 2003 UW-Eau Claire sociology graduate, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to research dissident Czechoslovak musical communities during the years of 1971-89. Full story.

UW-Eau Claire grads find strong job marketUW-Eau Claire graduates are finding jobs, and many of those jobs are in Wisconsin, according to the university's latest Career Services survey. Ninety-eight percent of the 2004-05 UW-Eau Claire graduates responding to the survey are employed or continuing their education, said Jeanne Skoug, director of Career Services. Fifty-nine percent of the graduates included in the survey are working for businesses and organizations in Wisconsin, Skoug said, noting that 27 percent are working in the Chippewa Valley. "Ten years ago only 10 percent of our graduates found employment in the Chippewa Valley," Skoug said. "Local businesses and communities are benefiting from our graduates' talent, energy and knowledge." Full story.

New scholarship memorializes former Provost Ronald Satz

Dr. Ronald Satz

A scholarship has been established in memory of Ronald N. Satz, UW-Eau Claire provost and vice chancellor emeritus, who died March 7 following a long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The Dr. Ronald N. Satz Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a first-generation college student, immigrant to the United States or child of an immigrant, a minority or economically disadvantaged student, or a student who shows evidence of a strong commitment to social or economic justice and/or public service. Gifts to the scholarship fund can be made through the UW-Eau Claire Foundation.

Satz retired from UW-Eau Claire in 2005 after 22 years of service as a faculty member and administrator, including six years as provost and vice chancellor from May 1999 to October 2005. An American Indian historian with a specialty in Indian treaties and treaty rights, Satz taught history classes and continued his scholarly activities while serving in the university's administration. Full story.

Blugolds reconnect at June, July alumni events

More than 300 Blugold grads attended UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association events at various locations in June and July. Top left,
Clark Crawford '69, Karen (Christopher) Crawford '67, Kathleen (Flynn) Solberg '70 and Jim Solberg '67enjoyed the Chippewa Valley Spring Fling at the Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls June 13. Top right, an alumni gathering before the June 28 Cubs-Brewers game at Chicago's Wrigley field was the place to be for Jill Kragseth '02, Barb Stevenson '47, Laurie Kabe '82, Sue Rendall '72 and Elizabeth (Whitney) Gain '00. Bottom right, Kristi Stokes '91 and her husband, David, were among those who enjoyed a Lake Superior cruise July 10 with alumni from other UW System universities. (Top left photo by Rick Mickelson, UW-Eau Claire; other photos by UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association.)

Alumni couple awards first scholarship
In May, UW-Eau Claire alumni David Suchla '69 and Jeanette (Hatfield) Suchla '70 presented the first award from their UW-Eau Claire Foundation scholarship fund to Monique Gont of Cornell. Gont, who graduated from Lake Holcombe High School, received her award at the high school's commencement ceremony. She will be a freshman at UW-Eau Claire this fall. Read more about the David and Jeanette Suchla Endowed Scholarship. (Contributed photo)

Allison Whittenberg '95 (MA) has written her first novel, "Sweet Thang," a young adult novel published in March 2006. Full story.

Show how much you know about UW-Eau Claire — AND win great Blugold prizes! E-mail your answer to this month's question to the Blugold Trivia mailbox (trivia@uwec.edu). Those sending correct responses to this month's question will be entered in a drawing for a UW-Eau Claire long-sleeve alumni T-shirt, pictured at left. The name of this month's Blugold Trivia winner will be published in the August issue of e-View.

July Blugold Trivia question:

What are the dates for UW-Eau Claire Homecoming 2006?

Know the answer? E-mail it, along with your name and class year, to trivia@uwec.edu. You'll be notified by e-mail if you are this month's winner!

June's winner:Congratulations to Katie Krings, a 2004 UW-Eau Claire marketing graduate, who has won a UW-Eau Claire alumni sweatshirt. Katie was among those who correctly identified the image at left as the sculpture "High Noon #7" by
Edward McCullough, located outside the Ade Olson Addition of the McPhee Physical Education Center on UW-Eau Claire's upper campus.